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JFK and Neptune in Leo

I suggested in the previous article that Neptune was perhaps the key planet to look at to understand the astrological basis of JFK’s enduring fame and admiration, yet I dismissed this ‘look’ with a rather curt ” no more needs to be said”, without actually saying much at all. I apologize for this. I will attempt to describe here what I think Neptune’s role is/was in JFK’s life and legacy.

Neptune, from a Sabian astrological perspective

Neptune in Sabian astrology as developed by Marc Edmund Jones has contributed a dimensional expansion to that typically presented in conventional modern astrology. What do I mean by this? Conventionally Neptune in its negative expression is associated with such things as: illusions, delusions, confusion, psychism, impracticality, deception and all sorts of addictions be they chemical or psychological in nature; and in a more positive form as: imagination, spirituality, compassion and idealism.

These are of course psychological and behavioral traits and conditions that are appropriately ascribed to the planet. Marc Edmund Jones however took his exploration of the planet to a deeper level to study the source of its expressions and manifestations.

In Professional Astrology XXII, Jones writes: “There are two purposes served in every life – one of these the purpose of the soul in seeking and accepting incarnation, and the other the purpose of life as a whole in accepting and sustaining the individual existence – and of the these Neptune indicates the intent of the life toward the person: the elements in experience through which the self is forced to conform to the outer scheme of things. This is a service to the extra-individual or cosmic elements of being.

The whole purpose of being from the standpoint of society at large is indicated by Neptune. Neptune indicates where and how the individual fits into the general scheme of all things; it is the group classification of self. It is therefore, from some points of view, the most important planet in the chart.”

He continues;”Uranus and Neptune represent an extra-human extension of faculty and therefore indicate an extra-human extension of experience… a convenient beginning of an understanding of their nature is to say that Uranus represents the individual’s approach to outer society, his means of direct mastery of life, and Neptune the approach of society to the individual, or the certain and sure mastery of society over him.”

And, “Societies control of the individual is the pattern of his being, his reason for incarnation…Neptune does not tell us directly a single thing about any native, but it reveals as completely the entire reason and justification for the being of the native: why he is here, why he is here and now and why he is where he is, here and now. The ‘whereness’ is shown by the degree, the ‘hereness’ by the house, and the ‘whyness’ by the sign.”

We can understand from this that Neptune acts as a refining force/influence on an individual, it seems to make demands. These ‘cosmic demands’ however may not be clear and concise, but appear to the individual ‘as seen through a glass darkly’; hence, the elements of illusion and confusion enter, causing a person to question what is real and what is not. It is therefore not the real nature of Neptune to confuse, but in our inability to understand.

Sabian astrology therefore assigns the keyword obligation to Neptune. In Astrology, How and Why It Works, MEJ writes: “An adequate or creative interest in the intricacies of community organization, contrawise, may awaken an individual to the unfolding potentials of his own equally intricate constitution, especially in the instance of someone who possess or develops the skills to make an enduring contribution to his day and age.

Thereupon Neptune charts the higher type of group intuition, the social insight or possibly even prophetic capacity which enables the more competent native to express the race destiny in some measure, and hence to capitalize spectacularly upon his place in the scheme of things.”

Neptune and John Kennedy

So, there you have it, in abbreviated form, the Sabian version of Neptune. From this we see that in the life of a person who ‘can get it’ and integrate it, Neptune, reveals the deeper dimensions of life, where and why one is. Pretty significant stuff. John Kennedy was a man ‘with feet of clay’, no doubt, but despite this personal foibles, he did hear a higher calling, see a wider vista of human potential and was able to embody these within his person and project them on his world.

In the previous article I explained Neptune’s connection in JFK’s chart with the Moon and Venus, and its position at the mid-point of these two, which gives focal emphasis to Neptune. Further Neptune is located in the 10th house, the house most closely associated with ‘personal projection’, hence, Neptune was a planet instrumental in JFK’s life work and reputation. Neptune is in Leo, the sign of ‘kingly expression’.

Lastly, we should look at the Sabian Symbol for Neptune’s degree which is the 3rd degree of Leo. The image for this degree is a woman having her hair bobbed. I like what Diana Roche says about this degree in her book Sabian Symbols, A Screen of Prophecy: “Theme: The Courage to Change. This symbol speaks to the fact that individuals are free to make choices, change, and free themselves from bondage to outworn habits and unprofitable ways of living…symbolizes independent thinking, modernization… and to take whatever steps are necessary for personal growth. The transformation implied in this image is sudden, rather than gradual, and the implication here is of a sudden realization that change is necessary”.

JFK was without argument a genuine ‘change agent’, a breath of fresh air, and a prophet for a new age which called for lifting up the human spirit.

I will close this essay here. In my estimation Neptune was a major player in JFK’s life. For those of you that have read extensively about his life, which I haven’t, will probably find ample evidence of the planet in his life and experiences.

I think that it has been established that Neptune was a significant planet in his chart and serves well as a significant archetype of his enduring legacy. What exactly was his legacy? This question is not easily answered by a listing of ‘real-world’ accomplishments, rather it was perhaps more in the way he lived and spoke that inspired us to aspire for a higher life for ourselves in what we can do and what we could be.

His sudden, tragic death was nearly a fatal blow to the hopes and aspirations of the nation, and continues to hang as a dark cloud over the national spirit. His assassination may have broken open the door to our darker national self, which is now parading around in misappropriated garments of regalia.

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Published by anthropik9

I was introduced to astrology in 1968 and have studied a a broad spectrum of astrological literature during the intervening years. I was a student of Marc Edmund Jones and a member the the Sabian Assembly and served as mundane astrologer for the Assembly. ejohnson68@tx.rr.com
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